All This Time
by UncannyAnnie
Summary: Modern Day, AU, Clato, mostly Clove's POV, maybe some Cato. Clove has never had a boy feel things for her, let alone feel something for a boy. How will this change when her friend Cato admits he has feelings for her- more than just the friendly kind?
1. Fun In The Sun

**A/N- Hey! Glad you decided to read my story! Lol, I'm such a noob. This is my first Fanfiction _ever, _so if I did anything wrong, feel free to tell me. I'd appreciate it. Also, I don't mind if your reviews contain constructive criticism- you're only helping me. The only types of criticism I don't want to read are pointless things, like "Your story sucks" or, "Ew, I don't like this at all". If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that.**

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**Chapter 1- Fun in the Sun**

_Clove's POV  
_

The only thing I'm aware of as I step out onto my patio is that somebody is watching me. It's not uncommon, of course, because ever since my family and I moved to Sandpoint, Idaho, people have been watching us, straining to get a glimpse at the 'wealthiest family in town'. The reason we have all of this money is my father. My father isn't here with us; he's a high-ranked army official, referred to as a 'Peacekeeper', and is out in a secret base God-knows-where scheming to find the solution to the worlds problems, as he tells me and my 12 year old sister, Lucy. Dad was called to this base on short notice, only giving him three days to pack up and say goodbye to us, his family, before getting on that horrid flight. They asked for him, specifically, because Dad had just found a way to stop a small war waging between two countries for quite some time now, and they want his help to find a solution to the Afghanistan war. Because of Dad's success, my family was rewarded a large sum of money.

I would have preferred living in a smaller scale house, so that every time I walk outside I don't feel eyes ogling me, but my mother is very materialistic. Don't get me wrong- Mom's great, and I love her to pieces, but she's always thinking about what the latest trend is, and how to be the people to look up to. Not that it's a hard feat to keep this status. A month ago, I got into an argument with my mother about clothing, and finally, after about an hour of her bickering and nagging, she let me go to school dressed in what I wanted to wear (I'm 17 years old, I think I should be able to choose my own clothing). The next day, I saw the same shirt I had on being worn by four different students. It's like people don't even try anymore.

As I pull on my sandals left stranded by the sliding door, I turn to see who's watching me. "Cloverfield! There you are! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about us," my best friend Annie calls to me from her spot on the beach, where her boyfriend Finnick is currently trying to sneak up on her with a bucket full of water- presumably to pour on Annie's head.

"Hey, Finnick," I call out, giving Annie a warning of what Finnick is trying to do.

"Dammit, Clover," he exclaims as Annie squeals and runs from him, trying to preserve her dry state. As soon as I'm about to reply with one of my famous, witty remarks, the breath is knocked out of me as I feel something pounce on my back, causing me to stumble and nearly fall off the steps I'm currently walking down to get to the beach.

"Fuck! Jo, what the Hell! Are you trying to put me in the hospital," I exclaim, while attempting to give her a serious look, but failing miserably as I hear myself laughing.

"Never!" Johanna says in mock seriousness, "then we wouldn't be able to have our party at your place when your mom leaves for Cuba this weekend." Naturally, all Jo wants out of me is a revenue for the huge party she has planned. Johanna has this tough girl act, where she won't let on to what she's feeling, and she curses like a sailor, but when you're as good of a friend of her as I am, you know her soft side, and you understand her. With that in mind, Jo can also be a bit of a wild child. A rebel, if you will. She'll do just about anything for attention, and is always the first to reply with some witty remark. That is, if I don't beat her to it.

"Party? Why was I not told there was a party happening soon? I have so much to do! Clove, whether you like it or not, we _are_ _going_ to the spa," Jackie announces, pointing at me sternly as I plop down on the towel next to her, shaking Johanna off of my back.

I'd long given up trying to avoid Jackie's girlish attitude, so I just nodded to her. "Mom's going to Cuba for some fashion show shit, don't ask, so I told Jo here that she could plan her party at my place, seeing as how I know she has a thing for planning over-the-top parties, and I'm the only one with no neighbors to call in noise complaints," I inform the others, (Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, Annie, Marvel, Cato, Gale, and Thresh), who are looking at me, curiosity alight in their eyes, "Lucy said she wouldn't tell mom so long as she's allowed to have some of her friends invited, too."

"Yeauh bitch," I hear Marvel exclaim as he jumps atop of Cato's back, "time for us to get _laid_," he informs him, adding extra emphasis on the word laid.

"No, man, you got it all wrong," Thresh says, looking at Marvel, "Cato's not going to do that. It would risk his chances with-"

"ENOUGH OF THAT," Cato interrupts, now blushing a deep red color, causing everybody but me to guffaw at him, seeing as I have no clue what any of them are talking about.

"What?" I ask, agitated, seeing Jo and Katniss casting me looks while laughing. "Seriously, I swear to God, what is it?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Katniss and Jo say in unison. Having everybody around me laughing and trying to keep a strait face is taking its toll on me, and soon I begin to laugh along with them.

"Let's go swimming," I announce after a short while, bored with just sitting down. "Who has the inflatables?"

"Oh, me! That's me!" Annie squeals, jumping around excitedly as she hands everybody a toy from the bag and instructs them to start blowing, causing a chuckle and a mumbled "That's what he said," from Johanna. As soon as all the inflatables are blown up, everybody starts sizing up what's there and calling 'dibs' on what they want to use.

"Who bought the kiddie inner tube," laughs Gale, pointing to the miniature inflatable he's holding up in his hands.

"The only person that's going to fit is Clove," announces Katniss as she studies the inner tube in Gale's hands.

"Pass it here," Peeta says, snatching the tube from Gale before getting an answer, and shoving it down over my head. I shimmy the tube down my body, and much to Johanna's amusement, it gets stuck around my boobs, and I need Jackie's help to push it down further.

"There we are," Jackie says in a satisfactory way, looking at how the tube is a perfect fit around my torso.

"No, no, no," Jo says, pushing Jackie aside, "the tube is supposed to rest _on_ her hips, not _above_ them." Jo pushes down on the inner tube, to prove her point, and there's a whole round of laughter again when the tube won't fit around my hips. "That's a dancers bubble butt," Jo mocks, laughing and pointing at the inner tube that still won't fit onto my 'curvaceous' hips, as my mother calls them.

"You're just jealous because you wish you had an ass like mine," I inform her in a mocking tone, and start to spin the tube around like a hula-hoop. Everybody laughs, and soon we're all out into the ocean, splashing and carrying on in the summer sun.

* * *

Later that night, when I'm upstairs in bed, I start to think about what was going on at the beach with Cato. Normally I would let it slide, but everybody was looking at me as if I was completely oblivious to something, so I felt there was more to it, something I should know. Five minutes later, I fell asleep, exhausted, but still hadn't come up with an answer.


	2. A Girls Day

**A/N- Hey guys… and gals! (That word makes me laugh. Heh, 'gals'). I know you may read this a lot, and not think much of it, but reviews are the best. I'm not going to beg you for them, but you'll never understand how happy a review makes you until you get one yourself. I was literally jumping around smiling after I got my first review. Also, follows and favorites are appreciated. I'm sorry for not updating in a while, but I've been busy with school-related work, have had a major case of writers block, and frankly I'm just lazy. I'm going to be writing a lot of one-shots, so be sure to check them out when I post them! Also, if anybody shows a certain interest to a one-shot, and would like me to continue it and make it into a story, I will consider depending on how many people would like me to add on. I got bored during the beginning of this chapter, as I think I may have a slight case of ADHD, and my strange sense of humor kicked in and I added a little surprise some of you may laugh your asses of at, but others will think that I'm crazy. I'm not, by the way, my mother had me tested. Literally. She's a psychologist. Now that that's out of the way, THE STORY MUST GO ON!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, or anything else that other people have rights to that I'm too lazy to look up right now. I am merely a fan writing a story to amuse my simple mind.**

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**Chapter 2- A Girls Day**

_Clove's POV_

"Agh! What the fuck," I shout, disoriented, as I wake with a start, drenched in water, "why am I wet? What?"

"Maybe you had a bad dream, and are drenched in sweat," Jo says, as she insures I see the bucket she's holding before hiding it behind her back.

"Clover, stop, don't be angry," Annie frets as she sees my face distort in an expression of rage towards Jo. "I told her not to wake you up that way," She assures me, trying to calm me down, "I told her it would get her killed."

"Why do you need to wake me up at," I start, glancing at the clock, "8:00 during summer vacation?"

"For our spa day, silly!" Jackie says, popping her head around Annie's shoulder to get into my line of sight, and then deciding that wasn't close enough to me, and jumping onto my bed. "Don't tell me you'd forgotten already!"

"I was hoping you would," I grumbled as I climbed out of bed, forcing my way past the entourage of people in my room to get into the bathroom. "I'm getting a shower. You people go on ahead and do whatever the fuck you want," I told them, exasperated and grumpy. I'm really not a morning person. I walk into the bathroom and pull a towel out of the linen closet, looking at myself in the huge mirror above the sink. My long, raven colored hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions, and was so tangled it would take me ages to get it under control. My deep, green eyes studied the numerous freckles strewn across my face and shoulders, until I finally snapped out of my trance and stepped into the shower.

* * *

"Clove, hurry up, I have a big, big big day planned for us," Jackie says to me, mocking our English teacher, Mrs. Trinket. "Seriously though, our appointments are booked for 9:00, and it's already 8:30. We still have to pick up Katniss, and eat." I just roll my eyes at her and pull my hair into a messy bun, seeing as that's the only way I can wear it without the wind blowing my hair all over my face, obscuring my vision. "Uh, Clo..." Jackie trails off.

"Yes? What?" I ask, trotting over to the window she's looking out.

"Who's that man over there, by your car?"

"Well, that's," I say, popping my head out the window in attempt to get a better look at the man, so I can identify him, "I don't know…" I furrow my eyebrows together.

"Let's find out," the ever-enthusiastic Annie squeals, and bounds down the stairs, Jo and I in tow, to introduce ourselves to the man. "Hello, sir!" Annie says, extending her hand to the man. He looks about maybe late 40's, early 50's.

"Hello, _ladies_," he says, shaking the completely oblivious Annie's hand, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "How are _you_ today?" He asks, and I'm almost positive he's talking to her tits.

"I'm great! Thank you for asking," Annie beams; still totally unaware of what's going on. Jo and I are smiling manically at each other, while Jackie is petrified.

"C'mon, Jackie, nothing's going to happen, if that pedophile goes to far, you know Jo'll hit him so hard he'll wish he'd never talked to us," I whisper in a low voice, so Annie and the man who has now revealed his name to be Michael, can't hear me, "Me and Jo are just wondering when he'll realize there's a cop staked out, watching him from across the street." Jackie glances quickly, and then looks back, confusion in her eyes.

"Well, even if he is here, why don't we ask him for help, or stop Annie from talking to the man?" Jackie asks.

"Because the cop is most likely waiting for him to make a move on her, catch him in the act, so to speak. I'm not interrupting so I'm not the one to blame if his plan goes haywire," I inform her, and then add, "Besides, I think Annie's caught on, look, I say, and point. Annie is currently casually sticking her chest out in the air, trying to provoke the man, and keeps glancing towards the cop car inconspicuously. The cop looks grateful for the help. Soon enough, Michael reaches down, grabs Annie's ass, says that he quite likes her, and will be seeing her soon. Then, he squeezes her boob, and walks away. There are cop sirens sounding, and the car is racing towards the now running man. But the car doesn't make it in time. Well, it's not like the man could out-run the car, but Johanna is now pinning down the man, cursing a stream of obscenities at him, and furiously beating his face off.

"What was that, you little dickweed? You like Annie? Hate to break the sad news, but I don't think she likes you back. I don't think her boyfriend will, either," She says, and then spits in his face, causing me to laugh.

"Cloverfield, what in God's name is wrong with you? How can you laugh at this?" Jackie asks me, horrified.

"I love it when Jo gets mad. This shit's going on YouTube," I say though laughs, pointing at my phone video taping the whole escapade. "I think I might even make Jo her own channel," I add, "I'll call it 'Johanna's Bananas'." Jackie just rolls her eyes, and continues to watch Jo beat the crap out of Michael. She knows that if things were really bad, I'd go in there and either pull Jo off of him or join in on the fight. Most likely the latter. I've been training in hand-to-hand combat since the age of 8, and throwing knives ever since the age of 12. My dad wanted his family to be safe while he was gone, and where Mom would never be able to do any harm to a person in all the shit that she wears, and my sister Lucy wouldn't be able to hurt a fly, I was the obvious choice, being hostile like my father.

"Ma'am, please, stop ma'am, get off of him," the officer says, pulling Jo off of Michael.

"Ma'am?" Jo asks, scoffing, her anger at the man sprawled across the pavement momentarily forgotten. "Did you seriously just call me ma'am? What do I look like, your mom? Wait. Don't answer that," Jo says, and walks back towards us.

"Okay girls, to the spa!" She announces as if none of the previous events had just occurred, and points to the car. Jo never dwells on things in the past. As soon as she does something like that, she thinks it's best to just move on and pretend it didn't happen. In this circumstance, I agree, and unlock the car so the girls can load into my car. Ah, my car. It took me forever to convince my mom to get me this car. Not that she didn't want me to have a car- she practically begged me to let her buy me one. I just didn't like the types of cars she was offering to buy. She offered me BMW's, Mercedes, any type of luxury car you could think of. But I wouldn't have that. I'm not one of those girls who wants to go around and flaunt what I have- I just want to fit in, and I want my friends to be real friends, to be there for _me, _not my car. Finally, my mother stepped down and agreed to a compromise. Hell, I still didn't get the car I'd originally wanted, but with my mother, you take what you get. So, in the end, I'd ended up getting my beautiful Daihatsu Copen. The sad part was that the Copen is only a 2-seater, but my mom fixed this problem easily, by having one custom made. My mother doesn't go over the top _at all._

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"Katniss! Get in the car!" Annie shouts as I pull up at the curb, "and bring food! We don't have time to stop now that Jo decided to take a little detour," she says, pouting, but doesn't add anything more.

"No, don't bring food," I scream at her before she can reply, "we're going through the drive-thou at McDicks."

"What? No we're not, we'll be late," Jackie says, looking at me in surprise. I just glare at her until she sighs in defeat. Shortly after I get my McGriddle, I drive to the spa, content.

"Jackie! How are you, I've missed you here!" says a flamboyant employee at the spa, running up to Jackie and giving her a huge hug.

"I've missed you too, Portia," Jackie says, talking to the girl covered in pink feathers. Why did I agree to coming here? "How's Cinna?"

"Oh, he's good, great, actually. He just got a new job at that fashion studio downtown! Can you believe it?" Portia thrills, but then before Jackie can reply, adds, "But enough about me and Cinna. What can I do for you and your lovely friends! What brings you here?" She chatters away at us, leading us inside, the only person conversing with her being Jackie.

"My friend Clove here," She points at me, " is having a super huge party down at her house 'cause her mom's out of town, and so I told her we had to beautify her beforehand!"

"Oh, yes, yes, I can certainly help with that. Also, just wondering, not trying to be rude or anything, but you wouldn't happen to be the clove that lives in that mansi- uh, big house down on Riverdale Avenue, would you?" She asks, poking her head around Jackie to look at me.

"Yeah, yeah, that's me," I say, waving her off, as I take another bite out of my McGriddle.

"Okay, well… You girls just wait here until I find you the _perfect_ stylists," she tells us, and then waltzes away to a room labeled _Employees Only._ A few seconds later, three people walk out, all of them smiling, with not a hair out of place, and immaculate nails, and just appearance in general.

"Hello, hello!" they all say in unison, and I flinch away from their enthusiasm.

"I'm Flavious," says the man with strange hair and purple lipstick, "and this is Vienna, and Octavia." Both girls wave at us. Vienna is a fairly pretty girl in general, only she has a strange tattoo on her face, and a certain quality about her that I can't put my finger on at the moment. Octavia is a plump woman, and is the definition of bizarre. Her skin is tainted a light, pea green color, and looks like she has had so many surgeries done that it would be impossible to name them all.

"So, if you ladies would just follow us, we'll get to work strait away. Miss Portia told us to give you the full package, so you're in for a treat!"

"Oh goody," I say sarcastically, and stand next to Jo and Katniss as we walk down the narrow corridors. I feel that they may be the only people who feel my pain at being here, as them and I are a lot alike. Jackie obviously loves the place, as she is friends with the workers, and Annie looks excited to be pampered. Oh, how I wish I were home right now.

"Go in this room and change into these robes, and the lie down on these chairs here," Octavia says, " because the first thing we need to do is rid you of that horrid hair on your legs." I can see Octavia looking directly at Jo when she says this, and it makes me laugh. Jo hardly ever shaves her legs. Her argument is that the hair on her legs is the same color as her skin, and therefore it blended in, so it wouldn't make a difference whether it was there or not. She just huffs, and follows the rest of us into the room.

Once finished changing, we walk out and sit onto the chairs we were shooed towards, and I sigh inwardly as I see people around us whispering and pointing towards me. Apparently _Miss Portia_ has a big mouth.

"Fuck!" I scream, as I see Octavia rip off a chunk of hair on my legs with wax strips. She must have put them on when I wasn't paying attention. "I swear to God, lady, if you sneak up on me again and start ripping hairs out of their follicles, I will _hurt you_." I say, glaring. The stupid dunce just laughs, and continues to de-hair me. The rest of the time there isn't so bad- after a while I get used to the pain and just close my eyes and will this torture to be over.

"Excellent! You are all now radiant!" Flavious exclaims, clapping his hands in delight. "Now all we need to do is your makeup!"

"Our what?" I say menacingly, my eyes boring into Jackie's head, daring her to look at me.

"Your makeup," Octavia thrills, ignorant to the fact that I hadn't meant it literally. I was starting to get annoyed at this girl, and Flavious. They're so… Up in your face. I was beginning to think the only one out of them three of them I liked was Vienna, until Octavia added, " you're all going to look so beautiful, Vienna is just the most _amazing _makeup artist." And now I didn't like Vienna either. She was going to be the one attacking my face with weird smelling products and sticky goo's and things. Ew.

* * *

After all of our makeup was done, I looked in the mirror and was surprised to see that I actually looked good. Better than good, really. I looked stunning. Not that I'd ever admit that to anybody, of course. By the time the goons –my new nickname for them- had finally finished giving us all our makeovers, I was surprised to see it was already 12:30. That took 3 and a half hours! I'm never agreeing to this again. Apparently, I was wrong when I assumed that now we were done, we'd be going to my house to set up for the party tonight.

"No, silly," Annie chided me, " the boys are doing that-"

"How'd they-" I start to cut her off, but then she interrupts me as well.

"I gave them a key. I had it made when you were out visiting your dad," she adds, already knowing that I was going to ask how she got a key. "Not important. They're setting up, and we're going dress shopping!" Annie squeals, and starts bouncing, a huge grin on her face. "Jackie and I planned out this whole day, and you're not going to ruin it. Now c'mon, and pull out that fancy credit card of yours, and buy yourself a new dress." And with that, she snatches the car keys from my hand, and glides back into the parking lot, Jackie by her side. I just dragged along behind them, muttering things to Katniss.

I ended up just getting a simple pale green, almost-knee-length party dress, with a cream colored belt to 'accent my waistline' as Annie had told me. The dress was all lace patterns as well, so it made me look all girly and innocent. Pretty. I hated it. Well, not the dress, it was a beautiful dress; I just hated it on me. The other girls didn't buy anything, to my distaste, and said they had things to wear. They only took me out because they knew I didn't have a single dress in my closet since the age of 6.

As I drove home, Jo informed me that the party was to be started any minute now, and so I was to go upstairs, get changed, and '_partay'_. I rolled my eyes and ran up into my room, pulled on the dress, and walked down just in time to hear the doorbell ring. The party has started.


	3. Life Of The Party

**A/N- Hola! Even more reviews! Wow! I just want to make sure that you guys know how grateful I am for them. I was in the middle of my school cafeteria when I got an email on my phone, alerting me of a new review. I hauled my friend off of her chair and made her run around and dance with me. I think I may be on YouTube. Not the point. Just wanted to say, thanks for the reviews! Also, if anybody could come up with some ideas for later chapters, I'd be appreciative. I have an idea for one chapter after this, but if I try to think what could come next, my mind go's blank. Finally, please, wait me out. I have so many ideas and I promise you I won't stop writing until I finish this story, but you can ask any of my friends, (not that you would know them… I hope…) and they can tell you I am an _extremely _slow typer. Also, I'm going away on a trip for Easter break, visiting my father and my friend, (Miss you! Can't wait to see you! P.S- I know you're reading this, stalker. ;D) and because of this I may not post _anything _over this time, so please don't be mad at me!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own any rights to the song(s) used in this chapter.**

**P.S.- Althea is the name I've chosen for the un-named District 4 tribute. Also, don't get mad, I had to alter some of the lyrics in _You're So Vain _so's it would apply. Also, this is a _super long _chapter. Now, without further ado, I give you- CHAPTER THREE!**

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**Chapter 3- Life Of The Party**

_Clove's POV_

I run to the door, and pull it open to reveal almost every boy on the football team, as well as their girlfriends. And they brought liquor. Loads of it. Oh my. This is going to be a _long_ night. Why agree to do this? Not like I can change my mind now, anyway, so I usher them all in, and point out the direction of the kitchen for them to put all of the drinks.

"Oh. My. God. Clove! Is that you?" I hear a high pitched voice squeal, and I turn around to reveal a very slutty looking Cashmere Diamond looking at me. Not this again. Whenever I'm at a party, or even around people, and Cashmere is there, she'll act like she's known me forever and is my very best friend, presumably because she wants to be seen as somebody who knows 'the rich girl'. I just roll my eyes inwardly and wait until she's done with her little façade. "Damn, look at you! You look _fabulous._" Is that… Do I detect a hint of jealousy in her voice? No, that can't be it. Cashmere is the cheer captain of the school, and, naturally, is a blue-eyed, blonde-haired beauty. She could have any boy she wanted, and would never have a reason to be jealous of me. I brush it, off.

"Jackie did this to me," I say, pointing towards her over my shoulder, where she's off directing what CD to play, "what do you want?"

"Am I not allowed to just complement you, Clove?" She asks with faked hurt in her voice, and I just snort at her.

"No. You're not that type of person. Why are you sweet-talking me? What do you want?" I repeat again, staring her down.

"Well, uh," she starts, not used to people speaking like this to her, "I was just wondering if you and your little posse would like to come over with me and a couple of my girlfriends?" She says it like a question.

"No thanks," I say, rolling my eyes, and pivot away to walk into the kitchen, but she grabs onto my arm before I can.

"No, wait," she says desperately, "I kind of told them that you were coming, and they want to meet you…" I just stare at her incredulously.

"And why would you tell them that?"

"Uh… Because…" She says, not seeming to have an answer.

"Fine, well, I'll think about it, and get back to you later," I say, and walk away before she can say anything in return. In just the short time I've been talking to Cashmere, my house has filled with people. I look across the room to see Lucy's friends, looking anxious and out of place, so I walk over to them.

"Lucy's upstairs, getting ready. You can head on up, if you'd like." They give me a grateful look.

"Thanks, Clove." Her friend Opal says. "I didn't know you knew this many people…"

"Neither did I," I joke, rolling my eyes, and am about to add more when I hear somebody call out to me, and I wave at her and glide across the room. I search the crowd until I see Finnick flagging me over from inside the den, which seems to be where all the guys are, and I walk over to him. Almost immediately after I enter the room, it goes silent.

"Hey, Cloverfield! Awesome party so far, I was wondering if you knew where Annie was. I can't find her," Finnick says, but I can tell he's lying.

"Nice try. Why'd you really want me?" I ask him again, and take notice at how he and the rest of my guy friends are staring at Cato, trying to hold in laughter.

"Oh, well, uh, I forget. Nice talking to you though," he says, and soon after I realize every male in the room is staring at me. Except for my friends, who are all staring at Cato, who looks like a fish out of water.

"STOP LOOKING AT ME." I shout at them, and they all seem to shuffle awkwardly and then start talking amongst each other.

"Finn, why is everybody looking at me," I whine, and look at him, figuring he has the answer, because he called me over.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, Clover, I have a girlfriend," he says with a self-assured smirk, "but you look totally hot tonight." I'm at a loss of words.

"I… Uh… Well… HMPH." I exclaim, and march out of the room, exasperated and slightly confused.

"Hello there, Clove," says a cocky and familiar voice, and I freeze in my tracks.

"Hello, Darius." I say icily, and turn around to face him. Darius and I used to date back when I had moved into town last year, but we'd broken up almost immediately after, because I had caught him making out feverishly with the one and only school slut, Glimmer. I hadn't been too upset, really- I was planning on breaking up with him anyway. He had been too controlling. But him being with Glimmer had given me a way to break up with him easier, so I'd used that as my excuse. I still wanted revenge on her though. I always get revenge. Ever since then, Glimmer has been switching back and forth between dating Darius and Blight. It seems she's with Blight now, because as I look across the room I can see her running her hands all over him, as he's trying to talk with his friends. Surprisingly, through all of this, Blight and Darius have remained best friends. I guess it's because they don't see Glimmer as a girl; they see her as a sex toy. Which, I'll admit, most people do.

"You look lovely," Darius says, and I glare at him.

"We haven't spoken in over a year, why are you even bothering now?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, it's because _you _were avoiding _me_."

"And I'd like to keep it that way, too," I state, and I run off before he can say anything else. What is it with me running out of conversations tonight? Doesn't matter, anyway, It's not like I wanted to talk to him.

"_Cloooove!"_ I hear Annie holler from across this room, "Gather up as many people as you can! We're taking out the karaoke!" But there's no need for me to. As soon as she says the word 'karaoke' almost the whole party is lined up waiting. I join the crowd, as Annie struggles to find an order of how to choose who'll sing. Finally, she decides to have everybody who wants to sing write down his or her name, and put it in a bowl. I watch with an amused smirk, looking at the people who will most likely be embarrassing themselves tonight. I'm also quite amused that even though this is Jo's party, Annie and Jackie seem to have been running it so far. After a while of listening to strangers sing with their friends, I'm about to leave, but then hear my name being called to sing next.

"_Which one of you little fuckers put my name in there,"_ I scowl, and the room goes deadly silent.

"That would be me, you're most _favorite _person in the whole world," I hear, and turn to see that the voice belongs to Jo. She can hardly contain her laughter. I'm about to protest, but then I hear another voice call out to me.

"Why? Is little Clover _afraid_ to sing?" I slowly turn around to see none other than Glimmer looking at me, smiling sweetly.

"Of course not," I say in a falsely happy voice, and walk up onto the stage. "This one goes out to the _lovely _Glimmer."

_The story starts when it was hot and it was summer and,_

_I had it all, I had him right there where I wanted him,_

_She came along, got him alone, and let's hear the applause_

_She took him faster than you could say "sabotage"_

_I never saw it coming, wouldn't have suspected it,_

_I underestimated just who I was dealing with,_

_She had to know the pain was beating on me like a drum,_

_She underestimated just who she was stealing from._

_She's not a saint_

_And she's not what you think_

_She's an actress, whoa_

_She's better known_

_For the things that she does_

_On the mattress, whoa_

_Soon she's gonna find_

_Stealing other people's toys_

_On the playground won't_

_Make you many friends_

_She should keep in mind_

_She should keep in mind_

_There is nothing I do better than revenge_

_She looks at life like it's a party and she's on the list_

_She looks at me like I'm a trend and she'sso over it._

_I think her ever-present frown is a little troubling, and_

_She thinks I'm psycho 'cause I like to rhyme her name with things, but_

_Sophistication isn't what you wear or who you know_

_Or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go_

_They wouldn't teach you that in prep school so it's up to me_

_But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity_

_She's not a saint_

_And she's not what you think_

_She's an actress, whoa_

_She's better known_

_For the things that she does_

_On the mattress, whoa_

_Soon she's gonna find_

_Stealing other people's toys_

_On the playground won't_

_Make you many friends_

_She should keep in mind_

_She should keep in mind_

_There is nothing I do better than revenge_

_I'm just another thing for you_

_To roll your eyes at, honey_

_You might have him, but haven't you heard_

_I'm just another thing for you_

_To roll your eyes at, honey_

_You might have him, but I always get the last word_

_Whoa_

_She's not a saint_

_And she's not what you think_

_She's an actress, whoa_

_She's better known_

_For the things that she does_

_On the mattress, whoa_

_Soon she's gonna find_

_Stealing other people's toys_

_On the playground won't_

_Make you many friends_

_She should keep in mind_

_She should keep in mind_

_There is nothing I do better than revenge_

_Do you still feel like you know what you're doing?_

_'Cause I don't think you do. Oh._

_Do you still feel like you know what you're doing?_

_I don't think you do_

_I don't think you do_

_Let's hear the applause_

_Come on show me how much better you are (so much better, yeah)_

_So you deserve some applause 'cause you're so much better_

_She took him faster than you could say "sabotage"_

I then look Glimmer straight in the eye, make a heart with my hands, and mouth, 'love you'. Everybody is staring at me, dumbfound, until Jo cracks up laughing and starts to clap, and everybody joins in. The look of outrage on Glimmer's face was priceless. Priceless. I almost contemplated taking out my phone to get a picture of it. But before I could do so, she marches up onto the stage, starts the music, and sings.

_I take it in stride, one day at a time_

_If I ask no questions I'll hear no lies_

_How come blessings only come in disguise?_

_Try that on for size as I vocalize_

_Ain't nothing gonna get in between me and my flow_

_Ain't nothing gonna come between me and my afro_

_My man just left me, what do ya know?_

_Easy come, easy go_

_He came out of the blue and went right back into it_

_Had to forfeit 'cause he couldn't get with it_

_Called it quits and when he split_

_He said he didn't have time for my juvenile bullshit_

_I've had a lot of failed relationships_

_I don't get involved because I'm not equipped_

_I believe that the world should revolve around me!_

_I don't see the point of a partnership_

_It won't be long until they start to trip_

_Yes siree, the whole world should revolve around me!_

_There's only one me in the galaxy_

_I am an endangered species_

_This kind of flower don't grow on Earth_

_Just lettin' you know for what it's worth_

_This kind of knowledge can cause a depression_

_So I bide my time with philosophical questions_

_Not for nothing, but what came first?_

_The chicken nugget or the Egg McMuffin?_

_I got talent and I got tits_

_I know I'll find another guy who wants to get with it_

_I'm not convinced that I'm a big fat whore_

_One man's pleasure is another man's chore_

_I've had a lot of failed relationships_

_I don't get involved because I'm not equipped_

_I believe that the world should revolve around me!_

_I don't see the point of a partnership_

_It won't be long until they start to trip_

_Yes siree, the whole world should revolve around me!_

_I know I rock and what I got is hot_

_And you know I got a lot_

'_Cause all that trippin' you gotta stop_

_Before you know it your ass'll be dropped_

_I ain't concerned with my biological clock_

_Since I never grow old, my money's always in stocks_

_Keep screwing that bitch from down the block_

_I don't need you around, I know I rock!_

_I've had a lot of failed relationships_

_I don't get involved because I'm not equipped_

_I believe that the world should revolve around me!_

_I don't see the point of a partnership_

_It won't be long until they start to trip_

_Yes siree, the whole world should revolve around me!_

_I've had a lot of failed relationships_

_I don't get involved because I'm not equipped_

_I_ _believe that the world should revolve around me!_

_I don't see the point of a partnership_

_It won't be long until they start to trip_

_Yes siree, the whole world should revolve around me!_

"Too easy," I mutter, as everyone in the room tries to hold in their laughter at her failed attempt of a comeback. So I get up, smile sweetly at Glimmer, and sing.

_You walked into the party_

_Like you were walking onto a yacht_

_Your hat strategically dipped below one eye_

_Your scarf it was apricot_

_You had one eye in the mirror_

_As you watched yourself gavotte_

_And all the boys dreamed that they'd be your partner_

_They'd be your partner, and_

_You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain_

_I'll bet you think this song is about you_

_Don't you? Don't you?_

_You had me several years ago_

_When I was still quite naive_

_Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair_

_And that you would never leave_

_But you gave away the things you loved_

_And one of them was me_

_I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee_

_Clouds in my coffee, and_

_You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain_

_I'll bet you think this song is about you_

_Don't you? Don't you?_

_I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee_

_Clouds in my coffee, and_

_You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain_

_I'll bet you think this song is about you_

_Don't you? Don't you?_

_Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga_

_And your horse naturally won_

_Then you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia_

_To see the total eclipse of the sun_

_Well, you're where you should be all the time_

_And when you're not, you're with_

_Some underworld spy or the boy of a close friend_

_Boy of a close friend, and_

_You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain_

_I'll bet you think this song is about you_

_Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?_

_You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain_

_You probably think this song is about you_

_You're so vain (so vain)_

_I'll bet you think this song is about you_

_Don't you? Don't you? Don't you?_

After this, Glimmer has nothing to say, and stomps out of the room, red-faced. I just rolled, my eyes, got off the stage, and plopped down next to Jo, avoiding the looks I was getting.

"Was I that bad?" I asked her, popping a fry in my mouth, not even caring about the answer.

"No, Clover, you were good. Really good. Like, Katniss good. That combined with your _beautiful _snarky personality is bound to get you some stares," She says, but before I can reply, there's a group containing my friends and a few others standing in front of me.

"We're playing truth or dare, and you two are coming with us. No buts." Says Katniss, as she grabs onto Johanna and I's arms and pulls us up the stairs. "Grab a bottle," Katniss commands Marvel on her way up the stairs, pointing at him firmly, "and an _empty_ one." Soon after we're all sitting on the floor of my bedroom, although why I let them all come in my room I don't know.

"Okay. Me first," says Jo, and spins the bottle. And it lands on Marvel. "Truth or dare, little buddy?" Jo asks him.

"Little?" Marvel asks in mock offense, putting his hand to his heart. "Dare."

"Perfect. I dare you to… Let Cato text somebody from your phone." She waggles her eyebrows at him. Normally, this isn't such a bad dare, but the fact that Marvel has _everybody's_ number on his phone, and that he's irrationally protective over his 'baby' makes this the perfect dare for Marvel.

"Ugh, fine, you're mean," he says with a pout, handing Cato his phone.

"Dear Althea," Cato narrates, and I can see Marvel hang his head in his hands. Marvel's had a huge crush on Althea ever since he was 7, apparently. "I was wondering if you would care to go... Hmm. Marvel, where do you want your date with Althea to be?" Cato asks, and I can see Marvel's nose flare out in rage.

"_He's not allowed to do that! _Jo! You said _text_, not _ask out crush on date._ This is _so _against the rules." He rants, and seems to not even realize he'd just admitted to a group of people containing more than just our group of friends, that he has a crush on Althea.

"If it's via text, it's not against the rules, Marvel," Jo states, and looks like she's trying to keep from laughing.

"Ugh, fine, you're just going to the movies, then," Cato huffs, annoyed at not getting an answer, and sends the message to Althea with a _ping. _Almost instantly there's a reply, and Cato reads it, looking pleased with himself. "I am a true genius. She said yes."

"_Seriously!? Give me the fucking phone!_" Marvel says, and I almost smile a little at how happy he looks.

"I'm not sure about that," Thom says from the back of the room, replying to Cato's comment about being a genius, "Althea's had a crush on Marvel for only God knows how long. You just forced them together."

Cato just waves his hand at Thom, and says, "I'm a genius and you know it, filthy peasant." Which causes everybody to laugh, while Marvel spins the bottle. It lands on Jackie.

"Truth or dare, Foxy?" Marvel asks, using his nickname for Jackie.

"Truth. I'm a wussy, I know, don't even start," she adds, stopping Gale from commenting.

"Whom in this room would you rather sleep with?" Marvel asks, wagging his eyebrows suggestively, and then him, Cato and Thom go onto this whole banter of trying to do things to Jackie to win her over. I just roll my eyes. "Okay, she has to answer now," Marvel says, and everybody looks expectantly at Jackie.

"Uhh… Well…" Jackie trails off, and looks at her feet. "Thresh," she mumbles quickly. There's a stunned silence as everybody looks at Jackie, and it's Peeta who breaks it.

"Thresh, look at you man, you're beet red, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a crush on Jackie," he says, and Thresh gets even redder, if that's even possible. Jackie looks like she's just happy nobody is bugging her. Yet. I'll have to get to that later.

"Just let me spin the damn bottle," Thresh grunts, and flicks the bottle with so much force I think it might break.

"Whoa, you'd better watch out, Jackie. He'd be _feisty _in bed," some girl in the back of the room, of whom I can't seem to remember her name says, and the room erupts into laughter again.

"Cato, truth or dare?" Thresh asks, avoiding the comment.

"Dare." There's an evil glint in Marvel's eyes, and he leans over and whispers something in Threshes ear, most likely some sort of payback for Cato asking out Althea for him.

"Perfect, I was wondering how _she'd_ react to that, too," Thresh laughs, and nods his head towards me. I see Cato pale across the room.

"No, man, please, don't," Cato begs, a sight I thought I'd never see. "I'll do anything. I'll take your fat Nan dress shopping, even, just _don't do it._" He's looking at Marvel now, desperate. I can see everybody in the room waiting intently, wondering what's triggered this type of reaction. I have to admit, I am too.

"I dare you to tell Clove how you feel about her," Thresh says, smirking, and then quickly adds, "and how long you've felt this way, too." All of my friends are now grinning ear to ear, and Johanna's lost in, curing herself up into a ball in fits of laughter on the floor. All I can feel is my mouth form into an 'o' as I look at Cato.

"Well, I uh…" He says, and then throws a nervous glance at Marvel. He just nods to Cato. "I… I really like you. _Like _like you," he mumbles quickly, "Ever since I met you…" He finishes, and stares at the floor, refusing to look at me. I can feel the mask of shock on my face.

"Holy mother of fuck," I say, still staring at him in shock. I can feel other eyes gauging my reaction, but I don't bother to look at them. "Look me in the eyes, Cato. You'd better not be fucking with me," I say, not as intimidatingly as I'd like, because I'm still so astounded. He looks up, and almost immediately I can tell that this isn't a joke. "I think I'll just… Uh… Go for a walk," I say, backing towards my door, eyes still locked on his. As soon as I get to the door, I turn and run. I don't bother to try to find a place to hide in the party, because I need quiet. So I go into my garage, and sit against the wall. I'd known there was something going on with Cato, but _this?_ I'm not sure what to do about this. I've never been in this situation before. I've never been _liked _in that way by a boy before. They were all too afraid I'd castrate them, I suppose. I might have, too. Maybe I should do this to Cato. I'm so lost in my thoughts, I don't notice it when the door opens, and three figures step in. I look up to reveal the faces of Darius, Blight, and Brutus looking down on me.

"Why are you in my garage, fuckwads? I need to think. Go away." I state, and look down again. But they're all still looking at me. "What can I do for you, bastards?" I ask them with a smile, and Blight chuckles.

"We're out of music to play, we came in to find some new stuff," Brutus says, and then I realize there's no music booming from the front room anymore.

"It's over there," I say, waving them off towards the CD stand, and lean my head against the wall, just wishing they would go away so that I could think.

"That's not the only thing we came for," Darius says, and I look back up, surprised he'd spoken.

"What else do you want, then?" I ask, irked.

"You," he says, and before I can comprehend what's happening, I'm pinned against the wall, with a hand over my mouth, the three boys over powering me. I'm a small girl, and although strong, three, fit teenage boys are no match for me. I flail around, attempting to escape, but it's no use. They've got me. I suddenly get an idea, and bite down as hard as I can on whoever's hand is over my mouth.

"_Ow! _Little _fucker,_" I hear Darius exclaim, and as soon as he moves his hand, I scream as loud as I can. It's a blood-curdling sound, and is soon followed by screams for help.

"_CATO, __**CATO**__," _I scream, and am shocked that he's the first person I called for help. As soon as I say his name, though, I hear heavy, pounding footsteps, and the boys are being pulled off of me, and Cato is beating Darius to a pulp. The room is now filled with shocked people, trying to figure out what's going on. As soon as Cato sees my terrified face, he drops Darius to the ground, and looks at me, eyes full of sorrow and concern. I don't even realize what I'm doing until I have my arms tightly wrapped around Cato's torso, sobbing into his shirt. He seems shocked too, but quickly recovers and wraps his arms around me. I'm now crying so hard I start to hiccup. Cato just picks me up, carries me upstairs, and lays me into my bed while people sort out what's happening downstairs. I don't have time to process much of anything, though, because I fall asleep as soon as Cato closes the door.

* * *

**Just want to say that all credits go to HolyHungerGames for Clove's little stunt with the heart, and mouthing 'I love you'.**

**Loaf you too, Lennon. And I hope you're not mad at me for borrowing your sarcastic little bit.**

**Hope you all ****enjoyed! I'll be posting a One-Shot soon, so be on the look-out for it! *Takes out telescope.* I'm such a faggot.**


	4. Call Me

**A/N- Welcome, welcome. Thanks for all the amazing reviews! Also, I want to say that yes, the part where Clove was screaming for Cato was inspired by the book/movie. I want to make this fic as much like the original relationship between them in the book, yet still keep this a modern-day story. So if there's a part that you look at and say, "Hey, that reminds me of the part in the book when…" I most likely _did _take that part from the book. Also, I'm testing out writing in Cato's POV- only a little bit though. Tell me if you'd like to see more, or if I should stick to writing in Clove's POV.**

* * *

**Chapter 4- Call Me**

_Clove's POV_

As I wake up, the events of last night suddenly pop into my head.

"Oh my God," I say, sitting upright in my bed. I hear giggling and look to see Katniss sitting in the chair next to my bed. God, can't I wake up to an empty room anymore? And since when does Katniss giggle, anyway?

"About time you're up," Katniss says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I wish I wasn't," I mutter, and stand up, hoping to get out of the room before Katniss asks me the unavoidable question.

"So, what was that with you and Cato last night?" Too late.

I choose to just act oblivious. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't know what I'm talking about my ass," Katniss rolls her eyes at me, "Oh, Cato! Help me Cato, help me! Please. You were _all over him_. You wouldn't even let go of him long enough to walk upstairs and go to bed! He had to carry you! I mean, I know that you were really upset about the whole… Uh… Darius thing, but seriously! Do you have a thing for _Caaaato_?" She asks, saying his name in a singsong voice.

"What's gotten you in such a girly mood?" I ask with a smirk, avoiding her question. To be honest, I didn't know what I felt for Cato. Under normal circumstances, I would have never called out for his help. I would have just screamed out for help in general. No. Maybe I just called out to him because I knew that he was strong, and that he'd be able to help me. Wait, now I'm calling him strong? No, even so, Thresh is strong too. If I were looking for somebody strong, I most likely would have called out his name as well. Maybe it was just because he was on my mind, I was thinking about his confession. Yes, that must be it. Even so, that doesn't explain why I cried myself out into his arms. Perhaps I was looking for comfort? I mean, I know it was a traumatic experience and all, who knows what they would have done to me if Cato hadn't come to help, but I _never_ need anybody else's condolences. What is Cato doing to me? Could Katniss be right? Could I actually… _like_ him? Thankfully, Katniss snaps me back into focus yet again this morning.

"_What_? I am _not_ in a girly mood. I'm just… Uh… Happy."

"And what has you this happy, Katniss?" I ask her, genuinely interested.

"Well… You can't tell anybody else, but… Peeta asked me out on a date last night!"

"Really?" I ask her, surprised that Peeta had worked up the nerve- although, with the alcohol in his system last night, it most likely gave him a confidence boost- and surprised that Katniss was so happy about it.

"Look, I know what you're thinking, but I just can't explain it. It's like, as soon as he'd admitted he liked me, I liked him too. And it's crazy, because I hadn't even noticed him in that way before, and if he'd never asked me, I would have been perfectly happy dating somebody else, and would have no feelings for him, but… It's just weird. I don't really understand myself, okay? I'm still working it out," she rambles on, and I start to feel that Katniss may be the only one who'll understand what I'm going through right now.

"I think I might like Cato." I say quietly, and look up at her. "But it's like you just said. I don't really understand how I feel. I didn't feel anything for him before he told me he liked me, but then as soon I as I was in trouble, I was calling his name, and wishing he would come help me. I don't even know why! It just happened!" I'm starting to get desperate now, and Katniss can see that, so she moves onto my bed and wraps her arm around my shoulder, urging me to continue. "I've never liked any boy though! And no boy has ever liked me! I don't know what to do! Right now, I feel like I just want to bury my head under these pillows and die, I feel like I never want to look at him again. I made a complete fool of myself last night! I was a wreck! He probably doesn't want to look at me again, either." I bury my head into her shoulder, ashamed.

"Hey now," she says, tilting my head up to look at her, "Don't you say that. I'm sure Cato is just itching to see you. And you didn't make a fool out of yourself, hell; you just showed us that you have a soft side. That you're _human_. You're so cryptic all the time anyway, I'm not sure anybody knew it existed."

"Pfft, says the ice queen herself. Where'd you come from? The freezer?" I joke, lighting the mood. Katniss seems thankful. The moment that just happened between us was a rare one, and although it was nice, it gets awkward. Katniss and I are not people to open up like this, and so this moment is very uneasy for us both. But it's okay, because I know that she understands me, and that she wouldn't tell anybody what I said unless I was okay with it. Katniss just snorts at me, and tells me to go get a shower while she searches through my closet for something for me to wear. I sigh inwardly. It's one of _these_ days. Whenever my friends think I'm not well enough to take care of myself, they send one of the girls over to force me to get ready and go out to do things. It's okay though, because I do agree that I probably would have stayed home all day if they let me, but I know that it wouldn't be healthy for me. I just feel weak when they do this, though. Like I can't take care of myself.

* * *

After my shower, I walk out to see Katniss laying out my clothes. She's picked out a black high waisted skirt that stops just three inches above my knees, and a strapless cream shirt with a black bow centred on the top hem of it. I feel like my mother is dressing me again. Who knew Katniss had such girly taste? Maybe this is just another side effect of Peeta asking her out. I sigh and put it on, but as I'm about to get up to leave, she forces me to sit down at my vanity. I look at her cautiously.

"What do you think you're doing?" She gives me an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Clovey… I've been given direct orders from Jackie and Annie. They picked out the outfit and everything," she says, motioning towards what I'm wearing. "You're going to shit yourself when you see the shoes." I just sigh and let her do my makeup and hair, but thankfully she doesn't go over the top. I then realize the meaning for the makeup. She's trying to disguise the puffiness of my eyes because of my crying last night. She also adds a small bit of lip-gloss, eyeliner and mascara, and deems me fit to be seen in public. I am then given a speech about how I need to keep up this appearance every day, and Katniss doesn't even bother to hide the fact that she's reading it off of a text message. I can see on the screen it was sent to her by Jackie. Once she's finished, and I have sworn to 'make myself presentable' every morning, she takes out to shoes I'm supposed to wear. She's right; I nearly shit myself. Jackie has decided that I am to wear a bright red pair of Jimmy Choos, along with a small black Prada handbag. Why me? I sigh and take the bag, put on the shoes, and stomp out the door, knowing Katniss will follow and take me wherever I'm supposed to be going today.

_Cato's POV_

I walk down my hallway, twisting my hands nervously. Wait… Why am I nervous? It's not even like I'm going to be _alone _with Clove. All of our friends are going to be there with us. We're all going over to Cashmere's house- apparently she'd asked Clove to come over, and Gale had wanted to snoop. Rumor has it that Cashmere had been taking small things from everybody. For example, I heard Glimmer wailing about how she couldn't find her lip-gloss, and Thresh had said he couldn't find his jersey. Although why Cashmere would want that, I don't know.

"Cato! Get your lazy ass out here! Don't want to leave _Clooooove_ waiting!" I hear Peeta call, followed by a round of laughter.

"Says lover boy! I bet you're just dying to see Katniss!" I say, causing him to blush a deep red color, and mumble something along the lines of 'Just get in the damned car'. We pile into Threshes Jeep, and drive down to Clove's house where we're supposed to meet the girls- they're taking Clove's car, and we need to follow them because Cashmere is going to be texting them the directions. It's when we're about halfway down the road when the teasing starts.

"So is Clove going to jump into your arms again?" Marvel smirks.

"Or are you going to carry her out to her car?" asks Gale, and soon everybody is laughing at my expense.

"What? Like you did with Madge last night?" I quip back, "Or did you two even make it to the car? You probably just fucked each other in Clove's driveway." Now Gale is bright red.

"No way man, that should've been Jackie and Thresh, remember?" Finnick retorts.

"Hey now, I don't kiss and tell, unlike _somebody_," Thresh says, nodding his head towards Marvel. Marvel had been ranting all morning about how he and Althea had 'gotten it on' last night.

"Oh, shut the fuck up and take the turn before you miss it again," Marvel says to Thresh, rolling his eyes. Soon after, we're outside of Clove's house, all of the girls outside waiting except for Clove and Katniss. Soon after they step outside, Clove glaring at Jackie and Annie as soon as she catches sight of them. Jesus, Clove looks amazing. _Amazing._ "Pick your jaw up off of the floor, Cato," Marvel says, causing me to snap my mouth shut and look to the floor. And is that… Is Clove _blushing?_ I never thought I'd see the day. I can hear the guys laughing their heads off at my reaction behind me, but I can't bring myself to care right now. I want to go talk to her, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid that what happened last night was only a fluke- that she was upset and was only looking for comfort, and that they only reason she hugged me was because I was the closest person to her. No, Cato, stop. She called out to _you._ I look up at her again, and my breath catches as I see Katniss nudging her forwards to talk to me. She takes a deep breath, and starts to walk towards me, and I swear my heart stops. God, why am I being such a sap? I am Cato Evans. I am _not_ scared to talk to a small girl like Clove. But if that's so, why is my heart suddenly beating three times as fast as normal? I feel a weight lifted off my chest as the guys shuffle awkwardly away to talk to the girls, giving me and Clove some privacy.

"Hey," she says, scuffing her feet and looking at the ground.

"Hey," I mirror her. "So… This might just be a _little_ awkward," I joke, trying to lighten the mood. It seems to work.

"Yeah," she laughs, looking up at me, "maybe a little." I chuckle, and we make a little more small talk while I try to work up the nerve to ask her what I wanted to.

"You look very nice," I tell her, and lock eyes with her, refusing to let her look away.

"I-… Uh… Thanks." She replies, blushing slightly. I take a deep breath. It's now or never.

"So, I was wondering… Would you like to… Uh… I mean, would you be interested in…"

"Spit it out, Evans."

"Well… Would you like to go out with me sometime?" What shocks me most is her reply. She's beaming, ear to ear, and literally bouncing.

"Yes! I'd love to!" She exclaims, and I can feel everybody looking at us. Clove doesn't seem to mind. She starts to clap her hands, and run back to where everybody else is, tripping over her heels.

"Damn motherfucking-" she mutters and throws them off, and jumps onto Annie's back, smiling like and idiot. All the guys are looking at me knowingly, smirking, and I just run my hand along the back of my neck nervously, smiling at Clove, choosing to ignore them. After a while we all just get into our cars, and just as I'm closing my door, Clove calls out '_Call me!'_ And then cracks up laughing as she drives past. I suddenly realize that her purpose, although she may be happy about our date, was to make the car ride with Peeta, Gale, Thresh, Marvel and Finnick as long and embarrassing as possible. I laugh inwardly to myself- that's Clove for you.

_Clove's POV_

"Call me!" I yell out, and then burst out laughing, followed by Jo. The others just sit there, dumbfounded for a second, before laughing along with me.

"What was that, exactly, Clover?" Annie asks, handing me back my shoes to put on.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. So, where should I make Cato take me?" I ask, smirking. "Maybe I should go for that expensive place down by the dock… Oooh, I know, I should make him get me ice cream. I like ice cream." I say, and turn around gauge their reaction. All of them stare at me blankly, and then I'm bombarded with questions.

"When did Cato ask you? Just then?"

"Is there a set time you're going out? Is it today?"

"What are you wearing? Do you know what you're wearing?"

"Did he leave the choice to where you're going up to you?"

"Why'd you say yes? Do you like him? Is that why you hugged him last night?"

"Are you two like secretly dating? Or will this be your first date?" I just roll my eyes at all their questions.

"You gonna fuck him?" Jo asks me, and I start laughing all over again.

"Maybe. Why? You wanna watch?" I ask, and wiggle around seductively. Jo just laughs, and says "Perhaps." This causes more laughs, and sexual jokes the whole ride over to Cashmere's house.

* * *

As soon as we pull into her driveway, the guys all crowd around my car.

"What's the game plan?" Finnick asks, wagging his eyebrows at Annie, which makes her blush.

"I say Clove should go up and look for the shit," Marvel says, jerking his thumb towards me. "She's a sneaky little fucker." I just roll my eyes at him.

"And how's that supposed to work? She wanted to see _me._ Not you guys. She'll notice if I'm gone."

"Eh, just go for a bathroom break. Girls are always sneaking off into the bathroom to do their makeup and shit, right? She won't suspect anything."

"No, Marv, that won't work," Cato quips, intercepting. "You forgot- Clove isn't a girl, remember?"

"Then why do you like her so much, hmm? Didn't know you were into guys." Cato just shrugs, and sarcastically says, "The heart wants what the heart wants." By then our presence has been discovered, and we're being directed inside by an overenthusiastic Cashmere. Inside sits her friends, Ruby, Glisten, Aurelia, and Lysate. God, what's with the weird names in this town, anyway?

"Hi! Hi! I'm Glisten, it's so, _so _nice to meet you!" The blonde girl with her brown roots growing back in thrills to me, extending out her hand.

"This is Ruby, and Aurelia," she says, pointing to the girls, "and over there is Lysate." I decide I like Lysate. She's the least like any of them, with pale brown hair waving down to her elbows, concealing her face as she leans over the book she's reading. She has a very timid, yet calming presence to her. I listen to the three girls tirade on and on about how they did this and that, about how Ruby's mother is getting remarried and Aurelia's dad is going on a trip to Europe. When I speak to Lysate, she softly replies in a smooth, muted voice, but never more than that. She won't speak unless spoken to, and I like that about her- it reminds me of my sister. The other girls seem irked when I speak to her, and try in demanding ways to return my attention to them. I slowly do find out information about Lysate, though. She loves The Beatles, Janis Joplin and other singers of that sort, she's 17, just as we are, and, most surprisingly of all, is Cashmere's sister. Well, half sister, at least. I can tell Cashmere and Gloss feel superior to her, but she doesn't seem to mind. Or care, even. I can tell that the others in my group of friends seem to like her- Jo like's the fact that she knows how to 'keep her trap shut', and as does Katniss. The boys don't mind her, and think she's a 'sweetheart', in Peeta's words. Jackie thinks she has _excellent _taste in style, and Annie… Annie just _adores_ her. Believe it or not, Annie is much like Lysate herself. Although around me and the girls she can act much like Jackie, Annie is a very reserved person.

After ten minutes of talking, I go upstairs for a 'bathroom' break. As soon as I'm up there, I search around to find Cashmere's room. Once I find it, I start to dig though all the boxes in her closet, and just look around her room for anything that wouldn't belong to her. Or anything she has that would amuse me. I find nothing, and so I start to look through all of her clothing in her closet, laughing at some of the ridiculous things she actually wears. My phone dings, Katniss asking me if I'd found anything yet- the girls were getting suspicious as to why I was upstairs for so long. I was about to reply no, until something caught my eye. At the very end of her closet, concealed by a white, puffy fur coat, was a football jersey. That didn't belong there. Upon further investigation, I find the number _61_ written on the back, as well as the last name, _FIELDS._ This is Threshes jersey. I quickly snap a picture of it and send it to Katniss, who immediately replies; _Good. Cato is coming up to see what's taking you so long. We don't have much more time; Cashmere looks like she's ready to bust open the bathroom door to get you back down here. It's so quiet it's eerie. Apparently we are not worthy enough to converse with the almighty Glisten, Ruby and Aurelia. LOL. _It's not two seconds after I read the message that I can hear Cato stomping up the stairs. Subtlety is not his strong suit. Cato and I continue to search around the room, snapping pictures of anything that looks out of place, until we hear it.

"They were up there for ten minutes now. What are they doing? I bet they're searching through my stuff!" And then, to our utter horror, Cashmere starts clomping up the stairs.

"Clove wouldn't do that, maybe they're talking," Jackie suggests in a nervous voice.

"Yes, Clove is going on a date with Cato soon, maybe they're planning it out and that's why it's taking them so long." Annie says quietly in a steady voice. I grab Cato's hand and pull him out of Cashmere's room, and down the hallway, around the corner. It's a dead end. But it's too late to turn back now, because Cashmere has reached the top of the stairs.

"I heard them moving! And they're not talking! Like fuck they aren't looking at my things!" Cashmere exclaims, and flounces down the hallway towards us. I look at Cato, panic in my eyes as I hear my friends unsuccessfully try to reroute Cashmere. She's almost here now. Cato seems to get an idea, and mouths the word _sorry_. I'm about to ask what for, but my lips are suddenly very busy. Cato has me pressed up against the wall, attacking me with his lips, his arms jutted out against the wall keeping me locked in place. At first I'm frozen in shock, but I begin to kiss him back, knowing that this would have to look believable. Or, that's what I tell myself at first, but as the kiss grows deeper, I find myself lost in it, intertwining my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to me. It takes a while for me to notice that it got silent very fast. Completely silent. As soon as I notice this, though, I hear Jo's smug voice ring out into the hall.

"God, get a room, you two." Cato and I jump away from each other, our backs hitting the opposite sides of the wall, and stare at the people in shock. When did they get there? All of our friends immediately burst out laughing, the others soon to follow. Everybody is up here.

"Jesus Clove," Jo says when she's recovered herself, "when I asked you if you were going to fuck him, I didn't mean _now._" This causes Cato to stare at me in shock, but I refuse to look at him right now, afraid it may embarrass me.

"You're just jealous because if I asked him to fuck me, here and now, he probably would," I quip back to Johanna, and soon we're hanging off each other's shoulders, deep in a fit of hysterical laughter.

"I never understood their friendship," Cato mutters, and pushes past the people to get downstairs, as if none of that had just happened. I follow suit, along with everybody else, as we pile into the cars to leave, I see Cashmere eyeing us suspiciously, still dubious that we may have been looking though her things, so I call out to Cato, "Pick me up at 8!" and drive away smiling.

* * *

**A/N: And that's it! The last chapter until after Easter Break! I was afraid I wouldn't finish in time. My Easter Break ends at like April 4****th**** or something like that, combined with the time it will take me to write a new chapter, it will be a while before I update. I will as soon as I get it written though, I promise! Also, I added in Lysate because I felt I had made Annie too out going, where she was supposed to be very quiet and shy. Oh well, too late to change it now! Rookie mistake. I don't fret on them. I'll just make her a little more shy as time goes on in the story.**

**Lastly, that sort-of-graphic little make-out session was for you, Lennon. I know how you love that stuff! Kisses!**


	5. Back To School

**Hola! If any of you are writers, are you like me and have to be in a certain mood to write? I can't if I'm not in the mood. Also, my mood right now is actually quite a depressing one, so this chapter is bound to be sad. A little warning there. I hope you had as amazing as of a vacation as I did. Miss you, Lennon! Sorry, but although I hate them just as much as you do, or maybe more, this will be a little bit of a filler chapter. I've decided that my word of the day is flabbergasted, and so I'm going to try to fit it into the story somewhere. I'm weird. Now, this next thing I'm going to say is very important, so I'm going to make a new paragraph and all that jazz to insure you all read it instead of scrolling past it to get onto the story like I do most of the time.**

**_*VERY IMPORTANT, READ THIS!*_**

**_I need ideas for the story! I have no more ideas and I really don't want to end this story yet, because I only just started it, but I don't want to be one of those people that doesn't update in months. Please, PLEASE leave reviews with what could happen next. Also, more of Cato's POV, or not?_**

* * *

**Chapter 5- Back To School**

_Clove's POV_

The next day school starts again. As I'm walking down the hallway with Annie, I can feel people looking at me, and whispering about me. This is what happened when I first moved in, and hasn't happened since, after I made it clear that if it would continue, they would _not _be enjoying their last years of high school. So why was this starting again? I just inwardly roll my eyes and fight the nerve to have an outburst at them in the hallway, and stop at my locker. Annie stays quietly next to me, only occasionally asking questions when she comes up with one. I tune out her occasional chatter, and that's the reason why I don't notice she's gone until I turn around and smack right into his chest. "Fancy meeting you here," Cato says with a smirk, looking down at me. I've never really been that tall.

"Not really. Do you need a GPS?" I quip back, and pivot away to walk down the hall.

"Clover, wait," he says to me, and I freeze at the nickname he calls me. Only because of what happened, it doesn't feel like it's a nickname anymore, it feels like a term of endearment. I don't like it. It makes me uncomfortable.

"What?" I ask, not turning around, but it's pointless, because he spins me to face him anyway. I don't like that either. Two things I wanted to do already, and he's stopped me. I feel overpowered. I need to get out of here. I don't know what's going on with me. I know that I like Cato, even if I'm not sure how much yet, but for some reason I'm afraid. Afraid that he'll leave me, I guess, or pull a stunt like Darius had. And Cato is known to be a player. He's probably slept his way around half of the school already, in fact.

"I was just wondering when we were going to go on that date, seeing as you haven't been replying to any of my texts or answering my calls," Cato says as if he doesn't care, but when I look into his eyes I can see a pang of hurt in them. That only makes this harder for me to do, but it doesn't matter. I need to do it. I'm not just going to be another notch on his bed frame.

"About that," I say, and look into his eyes, determined to show him that I'm not as naïve as he thinks me to be, even though on the inside it's killing me to do this. "I don't think that's such a good idea anymore." And with that I spin around and practically run down the hallway, because I can't bear to look at his face right now. I'm holding back the tears, and cursing myself at the same time. Why am I sad? Why do I feel like I'm going to cry? I _never_ cry. I need to hit something. Or hug somebody. I don't know. I don't know what's going on. I must look like shit, too, because as soon as I get to my group of friends, where Cato already is, looking anywhere but at me, they all stare at me in concern.

"Cloverfield? What's wrong? You look like you're about to cry right here in the middle of the hallway," Annie asks in concern, but knows not to approach me.

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's great. Fine." I try to reassure her, but my voice hitches. Damnit.

"Are you sure about that?" Jo asks, and that's when I can tell I must _really_ look like shit, because she isn't even making a joke out of it.

"I said I'm fine." I demand, full of rage now because of how weak I'm being, and I feel like I could hit something again. That's when the blonde bimbo struts up with her stupid little posse. Perfect. Although I can't actually hurt her, her and her stupid little threats give me the perfect time to let out some of my anger.

"Hello, losers," Glimmer says, looking at me.

"Hello, idiots. Need help with your homework? You can't write with the eraser end of the pencil, just incase you forgot." I say, seething with anger, and all of my friends back away from me. They know that when I'm upset, it quickly turns into anger, and they know that this is going to be explosive.

"Thanks for the reminder. I was here to give you one, too. Try not to slut it up with Cato in the hallways today, OK? Some of us don't need to see all that PDA going down while we're trying to get to class."

"Or trying to get to the nearest janitors closet to fuck any guy you make eye contact with, in your case." How does she know about Cato and I? Who told them? Cashmere. Does everybody know?

"Don't start with me, bitch. I eat girls like you."

"Oh, you eat girls? That makes so much sense now. I have to say, though, I thought you had higher standards then that. Oh well, you do what you have to to pay the bills, right?" She opens her mouth, flustered, but nothing comes out. I talk for her instead. "And like _me._ Wow, I didn't know I was you're type, honey. Thanks for the complement! I'm a little afraid now, though. Is that why I always see you looking at me? Glaring, more like it. Maybe you're jealous that I have higher standards than a slut like you. Probably why you don't want to see me with Cato, either. Does somebody have a crush on me?" I ask, making my face look innocent and sarcastic at the same time. She turns on her heel without another word, and walks away, and that's when I notice people have stopped what they're doing to watch us, most of them laughing and taking videos with their phones. I just smirk at Glimmer's retreating figure, and take Jo's hand. She's the only one with enough guts to do this with me.

"Come on," I tell her, "We're ditching."

"On the first day?" She asks, not really afraid but more or less amused at how rebellious I'm being. "Okay. Just don't get mad at me if your mother kills you." And with that we both turn away and walk down the hall towards the main doors.

* * *

We end up going to a pizza place 15 minutes away, and as she sits down across from me I can see a look of determination and seriousness in her eyes. She even looks a little remorseful. This is going nowhere good.

"No bullshit, Clo. What's wrong?" She asks, looking at me. When I don't reply, she starts to build onto her question, as to insure she gets the required answer. "I mean, Cato wouldn't even _look _at you when you came over, and he himself looked like a kicked puppy. You go all bitch-slap-crazy on Glimmer, even though she really didn't say much more than she usually does, and then you decide to ditch school. On the _first day back._ That's just not you. Something's wrong, and we all know it, so don't bother pulling that 'I'm fine' crap like you did at school." I stare a Johanna, flabbergasted, and then I tell her everything. I tell her about how confused I am as to what's going on between me and Cato, I tell her about how I'm not ready for the whole school to know that something may or may not be going on with us, and about how I don't want to be just another girl he sweet talked into bed. When I finish, she just looks at me. "Are you fucking serious right now?"

"No. I just made up a bunch of shit for laughs. Of course I'm serious!"

"Well, you shouldn't be! You're a fucking idiot if you think that Cato doesn't actually care about you. If he wanted to get you into bed, he would've smutted it up instead of being all gentlemanly and asking you on a date. Hell, he would've consulted Finnick for help! He was a real player before Annie came along. That's not the point though. If you want to be a dickweed and think like that, then it's your problem, not mine. I'm not getting involved in all that shit. If you need some time, take it, but don't drag all of your friends along with you." Now it's my turn to look at her.

"I'm sorry for being a douche." I say quietly.

"Hey, it's okay, you can't help it," she mocks me, and I smack her on the shoulder.

"C'mon. You may not care about your mom knowing you ditched now, but you'll regret it later. I know it. Let's get back to school." I just sling my bag over my shoulder, throw some money on the table, and follow Johanna out.

When we return to the school, it's lunchtime. I didn't think we'd been out that long. We walk over to our table, where all of my friends and a few others are staring at Jo and me. I just plop down at the table, reach over, and eat one of Katniss' fries. "So. What'd I miss?" I ask casually.

"Well, Cato almost beat the shit out of Glimmer in the hallway because of some snide remarks she was making about you," Annie volunteers innocently, not realizing what's going on. Finnick starts to laugh awkwardly, as if unsure what to do about what had just happened. I do the same.

"That's cool. Good for him, I guess," I say, avoiding Cato's eyes. The rest of the day goes by a little awkwardly, but not as bad as the morning had gone. It's at the end of the school day when things got bad. I was outside, waiting for Annie to come pick me up at the front door- we were having a sleepover tonight –when Cato walked up to me. I'm tempted to run, but I hold my ground. Clove is _not_ afraid of something as simple as boy troubles. "Hello." I say curtly. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why you're avoiding me, and suddenly don't want to go on a date with me anymore." He states boldly, having the same cut the crap attitude as do now.

"Because I'm not going to be another one of those girls that you just fuck and release, okay?" I tell him, scowling.

"Wait, wh-" He starts, but I cut him off.

"Anyway, just, go find yourself another girlfriend, okay? I have to go. Annie is here," I say, and with that I walk away.

_Cato's POV_

I stare at her retreating figure, confused. Where the fuck did she get the idea that I wanted to have sex with her? Well, it's not like I would say no if she offered, but-

"_Cato!_ Dude, snap out of it. C'mon, we've got to go." Finnick says, snapping me out of my trance.

"Yeah, right, I'm coming," I say, and follow him out into the car.

"So what's up with you and Clove, Cato? She was super hostile today. Not that she isn't always hostile, but today, she was like, the ice queen. Where'd you find her anyway? The freezer?" Marvel asks, smirking, and then starts to laugh at his own bad pun.

"Shut up, jackass." I snap, scowling.

"Hey! You've got the same scowl as her too! Maybe you _did_ find her in the freezer! Might want to take some time to defrost yourself, though," Marvel quips back, laughing, until Thresh elbowed him and told him that he took it too far. "Okay, okay, I've got it. What's wrong with her, though?" Marvel asks genuinely.

"I'd rather not talk about that right now," I say sullenly, but Marvel just doesn't seem to want to back off. Or just doesn't notice how upset I am.

"Dude, that's a first. _I'd rather not talk about it,_" he jokes sternly, imitating me. I slam my fist onto the dashboard, and all of their mindless chatter stops immediately.

"Could you turn it off, for just _five minutes _Marvel? Would it hurt you too much to just shut up for _five fucking minutes?_" Complete silence. Good, I think, and sit in the passenger seat staring at the window shield with such venom I'm surprised it didn't melt away under my glare. Soon enough I get home, and I slam the car door and stomp away with such force I'm surprised I didn't damage Finn's car. Or maybe I did. I'll have to text him about that later when I've cooled off enough to form a coherent thought. My plan was to continue on up into my bedroom to pout for the next hour, maybe play Black Ops to let out some of my anger, but apparently my father won't have that.

"Cato!" His voice booms, "There you are. Go get dressed into something that looks presentable. We're going out to dinner." I'm about to protest, but then a little voice chimes in, stopping me.

"Please, Tato?" Asks my four-year-old little sister Alana, who can never seem to pronounce the letters 'C' or 'K' correctly. "Daddy says we can go to Pizza Delight, and you can help me grill my bread!" She announces proudly, delighted that my father has agreed to let her go anywhere near the bread grill. I'm about to say no again, but I'm wavering. I'll do anything for Alana- she's my favorite person in the whole world, and I tell her everything, as she reciprocates towards me. Not that her stories are interesting, anyway, filled with mean boys in preschool cracking her crayons 'accidentally', but I adore Alana, and whatever she has to say.

"Tato, _pleeeeease?"_ She asks again, knowing she's got me, and to seal the deal, tugs on my arm to look at her. There's no way I could say no to those sweet, innocent blue eyes of hers. Even the boys in preschool replaced her crayon for her when she pulled this over on them.

"Okay, Lannie. How about you come upstairs with me and give me some fashion advice? I have to say, you're looking absolutely _stunning." _I tell her, my bad mood wearing off instantly. I could never be mad around Alana. She seems pleased that I asked for her help, as she flits up the stairs with me in tow, leading to my attic-bedroom that's the only room on the third floor. Alana has started dressing herself, and if very proud of it. She now sports a purple dress with daisies on it, her ash blonde hair pulled back into a small ponytail resting atop her head, with two little white pompoms glued onto her elastic, something she had done herself because she thought it was 'swanky'. When we reach the top of the stairs, Alana starts jumping to reach the door handle that leads to my room, but I reprimand her immediately.

"Lannie, what did I tell you about trying to open my door?"

"Don't jump, because you could fall down the stairs and get hurt, and then who would Tato have to watch cartoons with in the morning." She repeats penitently, sighing as she moves out of the way to make room for me.

"That's right, lanniebear." I tell her, using my pet name for her, and she brightens instantly. "Now, come and help me get dressed. I can't have you looking better than me!"

* * *

A half an hour later, we're all seated at a booth in Pizza Delight, and Lannie is just itching to haul me up and away towards the bread grill.

"Go on with her, Cato," My father tells me, "Your mother's meeting us here when she finishes up at the office, and I doubt she'd let Alana anywhere near that grill when she gets here."

"Alright, but if mom sees me with her, this is all your idea, and you told me to, okay?" I inform my dad, even though I know my mother wouldn't be that mad at us.

"Okay," My father smiles, and with that I let Alana pull me off towards the grilling station. Not as soon as we get there, though, does Alana complain.

"Tato, I only like the plain bread. I want plain bread," she pouts, and gives me her signature doe-eyed stare.

"Fine, I'll go ask the man for some. You go sit down with daddy, okay? I don't want you to get hurt," I instruct her, but she won't have it.

"No way, Tato. I'm a big girl now. I won't touch anything, I swear." She promises me, but when I shake my head no, she sighs. "How about this; I'll stand in the corner there, where you can watch me, and I won't touch anything. If I get hurt, I'll scream out really, really loud so you can hear me. Okay?" She bargains with me, and I almost laugh at how cute she looks.

"Okay, Lannie." I agree, and she beams at me and retreats to the corner as promised. I walk over to the counter quickly and ask for the bread, but when I turn around Alana is talking to somebody. Always the socialite, I laugh inwardly.

"Hi! I'm Lannie, but my real name is Alana. Tato calls me Lannie," she introduces herself, sticking out her hand like a 'big girl' and I smile at the scene before stopping cold in my tracks as I hear the voice that replies.

"Hi there, Lannie. My name is Clove." I feel like I should do something, but I can't, so I just stand there, frozen, watching the scene in front of me unfold. Clove doesn't know I have a sister- I don't even think Johanna does either. I the only people who know are the guys, Annie and Jackie. It's not like I told them about her, though- they just found out. I don't feel comfortable telling people about Lannie unless they ask, for some reason. I'm just over-protective like that. I wonder if Clove's pieced together who 'Tato' is yet.

"Say, Lannie, where is your mommy?"

"Mommy is on the way," Alana replies, twirling her hair.

"What about your daddy?"

"Daddy is at the table. Me and Tato are grilling bread." She informs Clove, giggling. "Daddy says you can't tell mommy though, because she might get upset."

"I won't tell, I promise. So who's …Tato?" She asks almost questioningly, unsure about the pronunciation of the name. She doesn't seem to know that Tato is me yet, though, and somehow that calms me.

"Tato is getting me white bread, because I don't like the icky stuff," she tells Clove, and I know that she's going to turn around and see me, and think I'm a creeper, so I choose now to interject, and act oblivious.

"I've got it, lanniebear!" I announce, walking over, and then stopping in my tracks when I see Clove turn around, anticipating her reaction.

"_Cato?_"

"This is my big brother Tato, Clove. Tato, this is my friend Clove." Lannie says, introducing us, not realizing that this is the Clove I've told her so much about. God bless her ignorance. I choose to talk to Lannie instead of Clove; in fear I'll break down and lose it.

"Well, aren't you just a little cordial girl, Lannie. Making friends everywhere you go," I tell her, lifting her up so she can put the bag of bread in its spot.

"You're just jealous 'cause I have more friends than you," she brags to me playfully, sticking out her tongue.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't sass me or I won't be making you any bread," I tell her, poking her in the side, and she giggles again.

"Sorry, Tato."

"That's okay, lanniebear. Why don't you go pick out some toppings?" I ask her, and she runs eagerly toward the counter.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Clove says quietly, almost thoughtfully.

"There are plenty of things you don't know about me." I say back, and turn around and walk away to where Lannie is yelling out to me, telling me to 'get this show on the road'. I still feel Clove's eyes watching me as I retreat, and I hope she thinks about what I just told her. There _are_ lots of things about me that she doesn't know.

* * *

When I get home, I'm exhausted. It's been a long day, and all I want to do is take a shower, curl up into a heap on my bed, and watch late night television until I fall asleep, but apparently, that's not the case.

_Knock, knock knock. _"Cato, honey? Can I talk to you for a minute?" My mothers voice asks cautiously on the other side of my door.

"I was just going to get a shower, mom, can this wait until after?" I ask, pulling the door open, but my mother's eyebrows furrow when I say 'shower'.

"This'll only be quick, I swear. Please?" My mom asks, with those same eyes as Lannie, and I move to let her in. The women in my family can be so convincing.

"Listen, sweetie. I've heard about you and this Clove girl," my mother starts, and I groan. Why, oh why does this conversation have to be tonight? "I think she's a total sweetheart, I do, but you've never had a girlfriend before, so I have to make this clear. I understand that teenage boys have… Needs, but please, lock your door or keep it quiet or do it when nobody's home, but please, don't let Alana know what's going on. She's too young for me to want to explain what exactly his brother and his girlfriend are doing upstairs, and I don't want her walking in on it." I rub the back of my neck, a nervous habit of mine, and wish that this conversation had never started. Now I know why my mother reacted as she had when I told her I was getting a shower. My mother's being so sweet and kind about this, and it makes me want to smile- there's my mother for you, -but I know that what she's discussing would never happen between me and Clove. I don't want to go into detail with my mother about everything, and how Clove isn't my girlfriend, so instead I just nod.

"I wouldn't traumatize Lannie like that, mom, and for heavens sakes, Clove wouldn't want to either. She'd die if she even knew we were having this conversation right now. I promise, mom, nothing will happen, and if it does, nobody will know about it." I tell her, and she visibly relaxes.

"Thank-you, Cato." She says, hugging me quickly, and then retreating downstairs to let me get ready for bed in peace.

About half an hour later, when I'm drifting off to sleep, I get an instant message on my laptop that I forgot to turn off.

**Finnick: Sorry about Marvel. He just doesn't know when to stop sometimes.**

**Me: It's fine, I get it. I was just kinda upset and pissed. Hey, by the way, sorry if I hurt your car.**

**Finnick: Lol, nah, it's fine. You should see my mom with this thing. It's like she thinks the car's invincible.**

**Me: Lol, ok. See you tomorrow. G'night.**

**Finnick: Wait… Cato?**

**Me: Yeah?**

**Finnick: Don't give up on her, OK?**

**_Finnick has signed off._**

I just stare at the screen, reading Finn's message, and find myself planning for tomorrow. Finnick's right- since when do I ever give up?

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Sorry for the delay- ****_total _****writers block, so please, please please give me some ideas! I'll credit you and everything! Also, I've always had a soft spot for kids, and if you ask my little brother, I'm 'the bomb' so I'd figured I would give Cato a little bit of family love to give his character some redeeming qualities. Do you want to see more of his sister, or no? Please review!**


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